The Preterit Tense – Past Tense

The Preterit Tense – Past Tense

By Russell Sabo

When you want to talk about a past action that has been completed in Spanish, you use the preterit tense, or el pretérito. If you began something, finished something, or if you’re talking about something that lasted for a while, but has been ended or completed, the preterit tense is what you’ll use.

Habl+aron=Hablaron (You all (formal) spoke, They (males or a mixed group) spoke, They (all females) spoke)

Com+ieron=Comieron (You all (formal) ate, They (males or a mixed group) ate, They (all females) ate)

viv+ieron=Vivieron (You all (formal) lived, They (males or a mixed group) lived, They (all females) lived

Preterit Tense and Reflexive Verbs

The reflexive pronoun appears in front of the reflexive verb.

levantarse – to get up

me levanté

te levantaste

se levantó

nos levantamos

os levantasteis

se levantaron

Preterit Tense and Stem-Changing Verbs

In the preterit tense there are verbs that will change their stems in the third person singular and in the third person plural. These words will follow the pattern of: o to u, and e to i. Following are some examples of each, and make sure you notice the third person singular and third person plural changes:

morir – to die

yo morí

tú moriste

Usted, él, ella murió

nosotros/as morimos

vosotros/as moristeis

Ustedes, ellos, ellas murieron

sentir(se) – to feel sorry, to regret

yo me sentí

tú te sentiste

Usted, él, ella se sintió

nosotros/as nos sentimos

vosotros/as os sentisteis

Ustedes, ellos, ellas se sintieron

pedir – to ask for, to order, to request

yo pedí

tú pediste

Usted, él, ella pidió

nosotros/as pedimos

vosotros/as pedisteis

Ustedes, ellos, ellas pidieron

Irregular Preterit Tense Words

It seems that the most commonly used words are usually irregular, and when learning the preterit tense, you’ll find this to be especially true. There are only 2 patterns that you need to know which will help you out with memorizing which words are irregular. Don’t worry if you don’t get them right away; it’s taken me about a year of reading and writing them to feel comfortable knowing

which ones are which.

Pattern 1 – Irregular Preterit

Below is a list of Pattern 1 irregular verbs in the preterit tense, followed by their changes.

Andar – to go, to walk / anduv-

Caber – to fit / cup-

Estar – to be / estuv-

Haber – to have (helping verb) / hub-

Hacer – to do, to make / hic- (in the 3rd person singular it is “hiz-“)

Poder – to be able, can / pud-

Poner – to place, to put / pus-

Querer – to want / quis-

Saber – to know / sup-

Tener – to have / tuv-

Venir – to come / vin-

For the irregular verbs above you will use the following conjugations for each pronoun, and notice the lack of accent marks.

Estar – to be

yo estuve – I was

tú estuviste – you were

Usted, él, ella estuvo – You (formal), he, she was

nosotros/as estuvimos – we were

vosotros/as estuvisteis – you all (informal) were

Ustedes, ellos, ellas estuvieron – you all (formal), they (males or a mixed group), they (all females) were

Hacer – to do, to make

yo hice – I did

tú hiciste – you did

Usted, él, ella hizo – you (formal), he she did

nosotros/as hicimos – we did

vosotros/as hicisteis – you all (informal) did

Ustedes, ellos, ellas hicieron – you all (formal), they (males or a mixed group), they (all females) did

Pattern 2 – Irregular Preterit

Below is a list of Pattern 2 irregular verbs in the preterit tense, followed by their changes.

Atraer – to attract / atraj-

Conducir – to drive / conduj-

Decir – to say, to tell / dij-

Deducir – to deduce / deduj-

Distraer – to distract / distraj-

Introducir – to introduce / introduj-

Producir – to produce / produj-

Retraer – to bring back, dissuade / retraj-

Sustraer – to subtract, to take away / sustraj-

Traducir – to translate / traduj-

Traer – to bring / traj-

For the irregular verbs above you will use the following conjugations for each pronoun, and notice the lack of accent marks.

Traer – to bring

yo traje – I brought

tú trajiste – you brought

Usted, él, ella trajo – you (formal), he, she brought

nosotros/as trajimos – we brought

vosotros/as trajisteis – you all (informal) brought

Ustedes, ellos, ellas trajeron – you all (formal), they (males or a mixed group), they (all females) brought

Ir and Ser and the Preterit Tense

The words “Ir” and “Ser” are the same in the preterit tense. As long as you know the context of the sentence that the words are in, it’s not difficult to figure out which meaning is which.

Ir – to go and Ser – to be

yo fui – I went / I was

tú fuiste – you went / you were

Usted, él, ella fue – you (formal), he, she went / you (formal), he, she was

nosotros fuimos – we went / we were

vosotros fuisteis – you all (informal) went / you all (informal) were

Ustedes, ellos, ellas fueron – you all (formal), they (males or mixed group), they (all females) went / you all (formal), they (males or a mixed group), they (all females) were

Dar and Ver and the Preterit Tense

The words “Dar” and “Ver” march to the beat of their own drummer in the preterit tense. However, it’s an easy beat to remember. Below are the conjugation examples:

Dar – to give

yo di – I gave

tú diste – you gave

Usted, él, ella dio – you (formal), he, she gave

nosotros/as dimos – we gave

vosotros/as disteis – you all (informal) gave

Ustedes, ellos, ellas dieron – you all (formal), they (males or a mixed group), they (all females) gave

Ver – to see

yo vi – I saw

tú diste – you saw

Usted, él, ella vio – you (formal), he, she saw

nosotros/as vimos – we saw

vosotros/as visteis – you all (informal) saw

Ustedes, ellos, ellas vieron – you all (formal), they (males or a mixed group), they (all females) saw

Spelling Changes and the Preterit Tense

Stem-changing verbs, irregular verbs, individual cases that you have to memorize; what’s next? Verbs that have spelling changes in the preterit tense, of course! Personally, I just lump all of

these words into the “irregular verbs” category when I’m studying by myself, but in the interest of order and providing a bit of stewardship for the Spanish language, I’m keeping them separate on this website.

There are 5 different patterns that require spelling changes and I’ll provide a list of words and an example conjugation for each pattern below.

Pattern 1. -Gar to -Gué

The first pattern requires that words that end with -gar in the infinitive form have a spelling change to -gué in the preterit tense. This spelling change takes place only in the first person (yo) conjugation.

agregar – to add

apagar – to put out (a light)

cargar – to load

castigar – to punish

conjugar – to conjugate

entregar – to deliver

llegar – to arrive

jugar – to play

negar – to deny

pagar – to pay for

pegar – to glue, to pick up

regar – to water (a garden or plant)

segar – to mow (the grass)

tragar – to swallow

vagar – to wander

Pagar – to pay for

yo pagué – I paid for

tú pagaste – you paid for

Usted, él, ella pagó – you (formal), he, she paid for

nosotros/as pagamos – we paid for

vosotros/as pagasteis – you all (informal) paid for

Ustedes, ellos, ellas pagaron – you all (formal), they (males or a mixed group), they (all females) paid for

Pattern 2. -Car to -Qué

The second pattern requires that words that end with -car in the infinitive form have a spelling change to -qué in the preterit tense. This spelling change takes place only in the first person (yo) conjugation.

aparcar – to park

atacar – to attack

buscar – to look for

chocar – to crash

clarificar – to clarify

clasificar – to classify

colocar – to place

complicar – to complicate

destacar – to stand out

empacar – to pack

explicar – to explain

justificar – to justify

pescar – to fish

practicar – to practice

sacar – to take, to take a photograph

tocar – to play an instrument, to touch

Practicar – to practice

yo practiqué – I practiced

tú practicaste – you practiced

Usted, él, ella practicó – you (formal), he, she practiced

nosotros/as practicamos – we practiced

vosotros/as practicasteis – you all (informal) practiced

Usted, ellos, ellas practicaron – you all (formal), they (males or a mixed group), they (all females) practiced

Pattern 3. -Zar to – Cé

The third pattern requires that words that end with -zar in the infinitive form have a spelling change to -cé in the preterit tense. This spelling change takes place only in the first person (yo) conjugation.

abrazar – to hug

alcanzar – to reach

almorzar – to eat lunch

autorizar – to authorize

comenzar – to begin

cruzar – to cross

empezar – to begin

gozar – to enjoy

lanzar – to throw

organizar – to organize

rezar – to pray

simbolizar – to symbolize

tranquilizar – to calm

trazar – to trace

tropezarse (con) – to stumble (into)

Autorizar – to authorize

yo autoricé – I authorized

tú autorizaste – you authorized

Usted, él, ella autorizó – you (formal), he, she authorized

nosotros/as autorizamos – we authorized

vosotros/as autorizasteis – you all (infomal) authorized

Ustedes, ellos, ellas autorizaron – you all (formal), they (males or a mixed group), they (all females) authorized

Pattern 4. -I to -Y

The fourth pattern requires that the -i in the following words be changed to a -y because of its placement between two vowels. This makes perfect sense when you imagine trying to pronounce the word without the change. This change occurs in the third person singular (Usted, él, ella) and the third person plural (Ustedes, ellos, ellas) conjugations.

caer – to fall

caerse – to fall down

creer – to believe

leer – to read

oír – to hear

poseer – to possess

proveer – to provide

Creer – to believe

yo creí – I believed

tú creiste – you believed

Usted, él, ella creyó – you (formal), he, she believed

nosotros/as creímos – we believed

vosotros/as creísteis – you all (informal) believed

Ustedes, ellos, ellas creyeron – you all (formal), they (males or a mixed group), they (all females) believed

Pattern 5. -I to -Y and -Uir Verbs

The fifth pattern requires that the -i in the following words be changed to a -y because of its placement between two vowels. This change occurs in the third person singular (Usted, él, ella) and the third person plural (Ustedes, ellos, ellas) conjugations. Also, in the first person (yo) conjugation will receive an accent mark

construir – to construct, to build

contribuir – to contribute

destruir – to destroy

fluir – to flow

huir – to flee

incluir – to include

influir – to influence

Construir – to construct, to build

yo construí – I built

tú construiste – you built

Usted, él, ella construyó – you (formal), he, she built

nosotros/as construimos – we built

vosotros/as construisteis – you all (informal) built

Ustedes, ellos, ellas construyeron – you all (formal), they (males or a mixed group), they (all females) built

Some Preterit Verbs Change Their Meanings

Some verbs will change their meaning in the preterit tense. Some of the changes are minor, and some can end a conversation before it begins (learned from personal experience). Luckily, this list of verbs is small. However, they are often-used verbs so they can be easy to forget about when you’re used to their normal meanings.

No querer – to not want – in the preterit, this means “refused” – Ella no quiso comer las arañas fritas. – She refused to eat the fried spiders.

Saber – to know (a fact) – in the preterit, this means “found out” – Supimos la verdad. – We found out the truth.

Sentir – to feel – in the preterit, this means “to regret, to be sorry” – Sentiste matarlo. – You regretted killing him. You were sorry you killed him.

Tener – to have – in the preterit, this means “received” – Tuviste un carro para mi cumpleaños. – You received a car for your birthday.

When to Use the Preterit

Knowing when to use the preterit tense in Spanish can be tricky at times, especially since you have the choice between the preterit and the imperfect tenses. Any time you are referring to a specific action that has been completed or that has happened a certain number of times, you will use the preterit tense.

DO NOT use the preterit if the action you’re referring to is something that used to happen, or something you used to do; that’s reserved for the imperfect tense.

Below I’ve listed three times when you will use the preterit tense and I’ve included some examples for each:

Referring to a Set Point in Time

Manejé al restaurante de mariscos anoche. – I drove to the seafood restaurant last night.

No entendí la leccion a las once. – I didn’t understand the lesson at 11 o’clock.

Se lo di a él la semana pasada. – I gave it to him last week.

Referring to a Certain Number of Actions

Comí allí cinco veces. – I ate there five times.

Corriste diez millas. – You ran ten miles.

Hablé con siete personas. – I spoke with seven people.

Referring to an Enclosed Amount of Time

Estudiaste inglés por cuatro horas. – You studied English for four hours.

Construyeron la casa por tres años. – They built the house for three years.

La cena duró dos horas. – The dinner lasted two hours.

Some Helpful Phrases

Below are some helpful phrases, that, when you know you’re going to use them, you’ll be reasonable sure you need to use the preterit. These phrases will refer to a specific time.

a esa hora – at that time

anoche – last night

anteanoche – the night before last

anteayer – the day before yesterday

ayer – yesterday

ayer por la mañana – yesterday morning

ayer por la tarde – yesterday afternoon

el año pasado – last year

el mes pasado – last month

la semana pasada – last week

el viernes pasado – last Friday

en ese momento – at that moment

esta mañana – this morning

esta tarde – this afternoon

hace cinco días – five days ago

hace un año – a year ago

Sign Up for the Spanish Word of the Day!

Sign up here for your Spanish Word of the Day! You will receive our daily e-mail which includes:

The Preterit Tense - Past Tense
By Russell Sabo
When you want to talk about a past action that has been completed in Spanish, you use the preterit tense, or el pretérito. If you began something, finished something, or if you're talking about something that lasted for a while, but has been ended or completed, the preterit ten